FIVE kittens found on a driveway in Worcester by a postman on his rounds have all died.

Your Worcester News reported last Friday how the kittens, found in Dines Green, were spotted by a postman who, with the help of a neighbour, delivered them in to the care of Ambleside Vets on Tolladine Road.

Despite the best efforts of head veterinary nurse, Mari Griffith, to keep them alive, all five newborns died between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday.

Miss Griffith said: "It is sad — the kittens just faded away over a matter of days. I did my best for them and was up feeding them every two hours throughout the days, but because they were not being brought up by their mother they didn't have the antibodies to survive. It's hard to hand-rear them, and I had no option but to keep bringing them in to work with me, which I know isn't the best place for them, but there was no one else who could care for them."

The RSPCA Worcester and Mid Worcestershire Branch posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday: "Rescue work is hard work, exhausting and often depressing. Mostly we do have a lot of success and with very difficult cases. However this week so far is not looking good.

"Sadly we have to report the five new born kittens found in Worcester have all perished — it is very hard to keep kittens this young alive. Also we have had two male cats brought into us who have tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and unfortunately we have had to put them to sleep. The cat today was an older male with a facial wound which was maggot infested. All this misery could have been prevented by all three cats being neutered. FIV and feline leukaemia virus are killers and are mostly contracted and spread by un-neutered cats. Please neuter your cat."